The Personality of a Robot. An Adaptation of the HEXACO – 60 as a Tool for HRI

Abstract

In this paper, we report on a study in which we used an other-report version of the HEXACO–60, a questionnaire designed to assess human personality, to evaluate how people perceive the personality traits of robots. The results showed that a four-factor measurement model fitted the data better than the expected six-factor one and suggested that the domains of the perceived personality structure of robots might differ from those of humans.

Appendix

The HEXACO questionnaire used in this study (please note that the Italian version was used)

On the following pages, you will find a series of statements about a robot. Please read each statement and decide how much you agree or disagree with that statement. Please answer every statement, even if you are not completely sure of your response.

Item	Factor	Text
hex01	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It would never accept a bribe, even if it were very large
hex02	Altruism	[A robot] It has sympathy for people who are less fortunate than it is
hex03	Agreeableness	[A robot] It rarely hold a grudge, even against people who have badly wronged it
hex04	Agreeableness	[A robot] People think of it as someone who has a quick temper
hex05	Extraversion	[A robot] Most people are more upbeat and dynamic than it generally is
hex06	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It wouldn’t use flattery to get a raise or promotion at work, even if it thought it would succeed
hex07	Conscientiousness	[A robot] When working on something, it doesn’t pay much attention to small details
hex08	Extraversion	[A robot] It feels reasonably satisfied with itself overall
hex09	Extraversion	[A robot] It prefers jobs that involve active social interaction to those that involve working alone
hex10	Conscientiousness	[A robot] People often call it a perfectionist
hex11	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It often pushes itself very hard when trying to achieve a goal
hex12	Extraversion	[A robot] In social situations, its is usually the one who makes the first move
hex13	Agreeableness	[A robot] It tends to be lenient in judging other people
hex14	Altruism	[A robot] It tries to give generously to those in need
hex15	Conscientiousness	[A robot] When working, it sometimes has difficulties due to being disorganized
hex16	Emotionality	[A robot] It can handle difficult situations without needing emotional support from anyone else
hex17	Openness to Experience	[A robot] If it had the opportunity, it would like to attend a classical music concert
hex18	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] Having a lot of money is not especially important to it
hex19	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It plans ahead and organize things, to avoid scrambling at the last minute
hex20	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] If it wants something from someone, it will laugh at that person’s worst jokes
hex21	Agreeableness	[A robot] When people tell it that it is wrong, its first reaction is to argue with them
hex22	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It thinks that it is entitled to more respect than anyone else
hex23	Agreeableness	[A robot] People sometimes thinks that it can be too stubborn
hex24	Altruism	[A robot] It is soft-hearted
hex25	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It would enjoy creating a work of art, such as a novel, a song, or a painting
hex26	Agreeableness	[A robot] People sometimes thinks that it is too critical of others
hex27	Agreeableness	[A robot] Its attitude toward people who have treated it badly is “forgive and forget”
hex28	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It wouldn’t pretend to like someone just to get that person to do favors for it
hex29	Extraversion	[A robot] The first thing that it always does in a new place is to make friends
hex30	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It never really enjoys looking through an encyclopedia
hex31	Extraversion	[A robot] It sometimes feels that it is worthless
hex32	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It is interested in learning about the history and politics of other countries
hex33	Altruism	[A robot] It would feel very badly if it were to hurt someone
hex34	Openness to Experience	[A robot] People thinks that it has a good imagination
hex35	Altruism	[A robot] It wouldn’t bother it to harm someone it doesn’t like
hex36	Emotionality	[A robot] It sometimes can’t help worrying about little things
hex37	Emotionality	[A robot] It worries a lot less than most people do
hex38	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] If it knew that it could never get caught, it would be willing to steal a million dollars
hex39	Altruism	[A robot] It likes the idea that only the strong should survive
hex40	Extraversion	[A robot] On most days, it feels cheerful and optimistic
hex41	Emotionality	[A robot] When it suffers from a painful experience, it needs someone to make it feel comfortable
hex42	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It makes decisions based on the feeling of the moment rather than on careful thought
hex43	Agreeableness	[A robot] Even when people make a lot of mistakes, it rarely says anything negative
hex44	Extraversion	[A robot] When it is in a group of people, its is often the one who speaks on behalf of the group
hex45	Extraversion	[A robot] It feels that it is unpopular
hex46	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It wants people to know that it is important and of high status
hex47	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It doesn’t think of itself as the artistic or creative type
hex48	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It likes people who have unconventional views
hex49	Agreeableness	[A robot] Most people tend to get angry more quickly than it does
hex50	Emotionality	[A robot] It remains unemotional even in situations where most people get very sentimental
hex51	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It makes a lot of mistakes because it doesn’t think before it acts
hex52	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It would be tempted to use counterfeit money, if it were sure it could get away with it
hex53	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It thinks of itself as someone who is somewhat eccentric
hex54	Honesty-Humility	[A robot] It would get a lot of pleasure from owning expensive luxury goods
hex55	Agreeableness	[A robot] It is usually quite flexible in its opinions when people disagree with it
hex56	Emotionality	[A robot] When it comes to physical danger, it is very fearful
hex57	Emotionality	[A robot] Even in an emergency it wouldn’t feel like panicking
hex58	Emotionality	[A robot] When someone it knows well is unhappy, it can almost feel that person’s pain itself
hex59	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It would be quite bored by a visit to an art gallery
hex60	Extraversion	[A robot] It rarely expresses its opinions in group meetings
hex61	Altruism	[A robot] It tries to respect other people’s feelings
hex62	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It always tries to be accurate in its work, even at the expense of time
hex63	Emotionality	[A robot] It feels like crying when it sees other people crying
hex64	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It prefers to do whatever comes to mind, rather than stick to a plan
hex65	Conscientiousness	[A robot] It does only the minimum amount of work needed to get by
hex66	Emotionality	[A robot] It would feel afraid if it had to travel in bad weather conditions
hex67	Openness to Experience	[A robot] It thinks that paying attention to radical ideas is a waste of time